Sande Elkins

Ok, I’m being a bit indulgent here. This has nothing to do with art or photography except for the fact that my horse, Mouse, has always been my favorite subject/model. We had our first show yesterday. I was both excited and nervous about how my wild child would behave around all of those people. We were showing not in saddle but at halter and showmanship. For those of you who haven’t done this, it is harder than it looks. The horse has to respond to your cues immediately and the judging is very strict and specific. We had only been practicing for three days but Mouse was learning her lessons almost immediately! She trotted on the word and after just a few times with me showing her what I wanted ( you aren’t allowed to touch the horse in the arena) she would set up her feet on the word as well. I was worried about the pivot because our trainer/instructor, Brandy, had not intended for us to do showmanship and so hadn’t worked with us on that until Friday afternoon. Well, we placed second in our first class, Halter Mare. This class is judge mainly on the mare and her conformation but it is enhanced by how you handle and show her. So, I expect a first on this next time-ha. The second class was Showmanship. I was so nervous that I totally messed up. Mouse, who turns out to have a very competitive side, didn’t seem very pleased with me-ha. Third class was Novice Showmanship which we certainly fit into. After the class and before the places were announced, the judge walked over and told me that she wanted to see my horse. She took her from me and shockingly(!), Mouse went with her. She used Mouse to demonstrate to all of us how the pattern and class were suppose to be done. Then she announced that we’d won FIRST PLACE!!! Afterwards, she pulled me aside and told me that I needed to relax because Mouse was just wonderful and knew what she was doing. She also told me that Mouse had more Showmanship potential than any horse she’d ever seen!! That’s when I told her that we’d only been doing this for three days and this was both my and Mouse’s first show. She couldn’t believe me. She and the other two women standing there, all told me that surely the man from whom I bought Mouse must have shown her. I told them that I was certain that he hadn’t but no one believes that she could learn as quickly as she has. I was so proud of her and complete strangers kept coming up congratulating me and telling me how beautiful she is:)...I was pleased but Mouse of course already knew this-ha. Then, Brandy talked me into competing in the Trail In-Hand class. I was so scared since it is out in an open, unfenced area and yesterday’s course was the most complicated and difficult that I’ve ever seen since I’ve been doing the show photography there. Well, she was perfect and…..WE WON THE CLASS!!! Yes, that blue ribbon means the world to me and not only did we get more congratulations from both friends and strangers but Betsy sent the ribbon girls all the way out to the trail course to bring my ribbon to me. I was over the moon but Mouse took it all in diva stride as if asking me, “What did you expect but perfection from me?” ha…happy,happy:) ~Sande